GasBuddy News Article

No Crude Joke Here: Scientists Show How They Can Transform Heavy Crude Oil Easily and Cheaply

KTVA
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JUNEAU — In a crowded committee room in the Capitol, petrochemical scientist Steve Yarbro held up a vial of refined oil, the product of a new process he’s engineering.

The attending lawmakers took turns Thursday holding the vial up against the light, inspecting the watery dark amber liquid with keen interest.

Yarbro explained how lab tests have proved super-heated, super-pressurized water can turn sticky, viscious heavy crude, of which there are billions of barrels on the North Slope, into much more valuable medium and light crude.

The super-heated water breaks down the complex, long chains of molecules contained in heavy oil and transforms it into light, watery crude.

“The process costs about $5 a barrel,” he said. “If you upgrade it and you get an extra 20 to 25 dollars per barrel,

If this works its just another step closer to energy independence for the good ole US of A and another thorn in the side of environmentalists and your president that don't want to see cheap oil so that wind and solar can genuinely compete.